Challenging students to hand over their for a week could help improved real-life social networking.
Photograph: Alamy

Ask most teenagers if they would switch off and hand over their smartphone or gaming console for a week and they’d probably look at you bemused and ask “why?”.

It’s hardly surprising. Their devices – smartphones, tablets and gaming consoles – are part of them; they’ve even been likened to phantom limbs. A recent report by Childwise found that children aged five to 16 spend an average of six and a half hours a day in front of a screen, more than twice as much as they did 20 years ago. Debate about the effects of the culture on young people – sexting, bullying, mental health and cyber addiction – has never been livelier.

“I can categorically say that 85% of my conflict resolution involves social media,” says Michele Staniland, lead behaviour teacher at Parliament Hill school for girls in north London. “Young people get isolated in their own bubble; they lose their confidence and self-esteem. It works against effective ways of communication too; students can’t do the simplest tasks, like look somebody in the eye and ask for something they want.”

While many young people recognise the problem, they don’t question their choices. “Gaming and social media are so much a part of their lives that they haven’t really thought about it,” says Sally Llewellyn, a teacher at Capital City Academy (CCA) in London.

So what happens when you ask a group of tech-loving teens to switch off for a week?

The Disconnect project did just that with a group of 15-year-olds from CCA. Over several weeks, we discussed their gaming and social media habits and then challenged them to go offline for a week. About half the class volunteered to use a basic call-and-text mobile while their smartphones were locked away.

Watch this film, made by Disconnect, to see how students responded to being offline for a week.

“Initially the students were dismissive,” says Llewellyn. “But the more they considered it, the more interesting the prospect of disconnecting became. Once we started looking at what they’d done the previous week, and how much time they’d spent on their smartphones and games, they were horrified.”

Girls were on their phones from the moment they woke up until they went to bed – they even slept with them by their side. Boys used social media less, but they spent up to six hours a day gaming.

One student, Abdi, was worried about how he would fill his time – a concern shared by his friends. “After a week you’d just start repeating what you did the day before. If I wasn’t gaming I’d probably watch a movie or something, and I’d hate to watch the same movie twice.”

Was it hard? Yes. But impossible? No. Most who took up the challenge found it less difficult than they expected, suggesting the relationship they have with their devices is less addictive than compulsive.

More importantly, all of them said they got something out of it. “I watched TV with my friends,” says one. “I read a book. I can’t remember the last time I did that,” adds another. “I got my homework in on time and hung out much more with my family.” They also reported going to bed earlier – a related and growing area of concern.

Head of year 10 at CCA, Jason Badu, watched the students throughout the week with interest. “They seemed a little freer. It gave them a sense of getting to know their strengths and limitations. When you have your phones it’s easy to forget this. When it was taken away they had to be like modern-day explorers.”

“Young people do realise this isn’t healthy,” agrees Staniland. “They understand that it prevents them from enjoying their lives. Older kids are even starting to ban it, but that takes real front and confidence. Most young people haven’t got that yet. I don’t think the internet and our oh-well-that’s-the-way-it-is attitude helps them much.”

Since this pilot, the Disconnect project has evolved so that students will be offered online alternatives – books, sports, culture – as incentives to sign up. This way the project hopes to send out a positive message – it’s less about disconnecting and more about re-connecting with other activities. Balance is the key.

By dipping into offline life from time to time, young people can make educated choices. As Masih, one of the boys who took part in the pilot, said at the end of the week: “I’ve been away from games and it’s cheered me up. I’ve been reading more and concentrating on different things.”

His friend Lucien agreed: “You have a weird feeling inside yourself that makes you feel happy.”